Life as a refugee in Liberia

In the town of Tartuo, in Nimba County, about an hour’s walk from the border lives fourteen-year-old Honoke (right) and her siblings.

They are all Ivorian refugees. Their family fled Côte d’Ivoire to escape the violent conflict, but their father died of a heart attack en route.

The children, their four-year-old cousin, and their mother, Valarie, are living with a host family of six. They survive on the food Valarie secures by working on nearby farms. Honoke has to sleep outdoors because there is not enough room in the house. The youngest sibling (in Honoke’s arms) has malaria and the nearest health facility is a four-hour walk away.

Limited access to resources like health care and housing, are some of the many problems for refugees. But the problems don't end there. The unexpected and usually sudden influx of people into communities that are not equipped or prepared for such numbers can spell disaster for everyone involved.

The situation in Liberia

By end January 2011 in Liberia, more than 30,000 refugees – 85 per cent of them children and women – had crossed the border from neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, fleeing violence that erupted after the 28 November presidential election in their country.

The refugees are concentrated in the north-eastern Nimba County, one of the poorest regions in Liberia. Many households are hosting refugees, exhausting supplies of safe drinking water and food. Overcrowding and inadequate sanitation facilities are also increasing the risk of disease.

In Tartuo, where Honoke and her family are residing, some 3,500 other Ivorian refugees are presently staying too, more than doubling the town’s previous population of 2,300. One of the town’s two water pumps is broken, and the other is only partially functioning due to overuse.

UNICEF brings aid to refugees and host communities

Working with the Government, other United Nations agencies and NGOs, UNICEF is: providing safe water to 17,500 affected people (refugees and host communities); distributing soap, water purification tablets and other supplies, and supporting other water and sanitation programmes; providing vaccines and medical supplies, nutrition support and temporary learning spaces; and helping to establish a child protection network to provide family tracing and child-friendly spaces.

How you can help

You can help children suffering from malaria, like Honoke’s youngest sibling, by giving Anti-malarial drugs.

Or provide water for families in need of one of our most basic demands.